High-pressure sealing head



Feb. 22, 1944. F. K. FISCHER HIGH PRESSURE SEAL-ING HEAD Original FiledApril 23, 1938 INVENTOR @ma K. Fiamma QD? ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 22,1944 HIGH-PRESSURE SEALING HEAD Frederick K. Fischer, Lansdowne, Pa.,assignor to Westinghouse Eiectri o 8a Manufacturing Company, EastPittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Original applicationApril 23, 1938, Serial No.

Divided and this application February 7, 1942, Serial N0. 429,883

(Cl. 22o-46) 1 Claim.

This invention relates to closures for pressure vessels and moreparticularly'to covers and closure members for high-pressure heads ofheat-exchange apparatus. This application is a division of application,Serial No. 203,809, filed April 23, 1938, for High-pressure sealinghead, which issued as Patent Number 2,296,710 on Sept. 22, 1942.

An object ci the invention is the provision of a closure forhigh-pressure heads wherein the internal pressure load is transmitted toa shear ring.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a high-pressurehead wherein the use of heavy anges and large bolts is avoided by use ofshear ring in conjunction with novel sealing means.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a high-pressure headin which the only bolts are those required to produce the necessarygasket pressure at the sealing joints.

Another object of the invention l'is the provision of closure means forhigh-pressure heads which will take sealing pressure loads in eitherdrectionequally well.

Another object is the provision of a relatively iiexible sealing memberto take care of any variations in dimensions of parts, and any slightmovement of the cover with respect to the body.

These and other objects are elected bythe invention as will be apparentfrom the following description and claims taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a portion of a tubular heatexchanger constructed inaccordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line II--II of Fig. l, lookingin the direction of the arrows;

Fig.` 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the structure ofFig. 1; and,

l Figs. 4 and 5 are views similar to Fig. 3, illustrating modiiicationsof the invention.

In the drawing, there is shown a high-pressure head at 8, including abody member 9 and a cover I0. The body member has a ange I I at one endfor attachment to the flange I2 of the shell I3, by suitable means, suchas bolts I4. Tubes I5 have terminal portions secured in the tube platewall I6 of the body member and they extend longitudinally through theshell to the outlet end (not shown) of the heat exchanger. .As is usual,the shell I3 has an inlet I1; and, where the heat exchanger is of thesingle-pass type, as herein illustrated, the body member is providedwith an inlet I8 in its cylindrical wall I9 for the admission of fluidunder high pressure. The cover III is detachably connected interiorly ofthe outer end of the wall I9 by the means hereinafter described.

Preferably, the open outer end of the cylindrical wall I9 isoounterbored at 2l to receive the cover I0. The counterbore provides anoutwardly-facing radial shoulder or face v23 against which the innerface of the cover abuts, and has an annular recess or groove 24providing an inwardly-iacing thrust shoulder 26. A shear ring 2l' fitsin the recess 2Q and abuts the thrustv shoulder 26 with its innerface'contacting the outer face of the cover i0.

To facilitate assembly of the shear ring 2l in the groove 2d, the formeris divided into a plurality of arcuate sections, for example, 28, 29,30, 3l, 32 and 33. To provide for contiguity of adjacent end faces ofthe sections and for insertion and removal of the latter, al1 of such:faces extend radially except the faces at either end of the section 33,which are parallel, thereby providing for insertion oi the lattersection last and removal thereof iirst.

The shear ring sections are held in position by a retaining ring 33connected by bolts 31 to the cover i3. The retaining ring is provided onits inner face with an annular, axially-projecting rib 38 extending intothe annular groove 39 formed in the cover, a gasket 4I being located inthe bottom of the groove and acted upon compressively by the rib. Thenecessary sealing pressure is obtained by tightening of the bolts 31,the latter serving the double purpose of holding the retaining ring inplace and of compressing the sealing gasket 4 I y The retaining ring isfurther provided with an outwardly-extending radial flange or lip 42providing suitably small clearance with respect to the interior surfaceo f the cylinder wall I9. Such annular clearance is covered by astraddle type seal comprising a pair of annular gasket members 43 and 44abutting the outer end faces of the retaining ring and of thecylindrical wall, respectively, and an annular sealing plate 46overlying the two gaskets and bridging the space therebetween.Preferably, the sealing plate is made of relatively thin and flexiblemetal to accommodate unavoidable variations in dimensions of parts.Outer rings 41 and 48 are connected lby bolts 49 to the cover and thecylindrical wall and serve to exert clamping action on the sealing platesuch that the latter is sealed with respect to the cover and thecylindrical wall by the gaskets 43 and 44.

The central portion'oi the cover is materially bet providing an outerface E6 aligned with the face 54, the cylindrical surfaces of the flangeand oi the rabbet fitting closely, with the relatively narrow annularclearance therebetween sealed by the annular gasket l. An outer ring 58is connected by bolts 59 and 6l to the retaining ring and cover,respectively, and serves to exert sealing pressure on the gasket.Preferably, the bolts SI are oi'v such a size as not only to exertsuicient pressure for sealing, but also to prevent displacement of theretaining ring. y

The cover 5l is formed with a second rabbet providing a thickenedcentral outer portion 5ta for increased stiiness, the outer edge portionof the cover having sucient thickness to afford adequate resistance toshear.

In Fig. 5, there is shown a further modiiication differing from Vthat ofFig. 4 in that the main body portion of the retaining ring 62 is ofincreased radial dimension to provide for extension therethrough of thebolts 63 serving to prevent displacement thereof and which are providedwith sealing means t4 beneath their heads. The ancover is sealed by astradale-type structure such as already described. v

In veach of these constructions, the head will take loads in eitherdirection. that is, pressure inwardly of the head will be taken by theshear ring 21, and pressure outwardly of the head will be taken by thethrust shoulder 23. The various sealing means disclosed will functionequally well with pressures in either direction.

nular joint between the retaining ring and the While I have shown myinvention in several forms, Ait will be obvious to those skilled in theart that it is not so limited but is susceptible ot various otherchanges and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, andI desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placedthereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically setforth in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

Apparatus of the character described comprising a hollow pressuresustaining body member having an opening at one end and a thrustshoulder adjacent said opening, a cover in the opening disposed inwardlyof the thrust shoulder, a plurality of shear pieces between the coverand the thrust shoulder for transmitting pressure from the former to thelatter, a retaining ring for preventing displacement of the shearpieces, an annular sealing means having its outer and inner edgesfastened to the body member and retaining ring, respectively, inoverlying sealing relation thereto, and an additional annular sealingmeans having its outer and inner edges fastened to the retaining ringand cover, respectively, in overlying sealing relation thereto.

FREDERICK K. FISCHER.

